Trump health memo says excellent health, leaves key questions unanswered
Trump’s new physical called him fully fit, but the memo still left voters guessing about bruises, swelling and why the scans were needed.
A late-Friday White House memo said Donald Trump underwent a CT scan, other heart imaging, cancer screenings and additional preventive assessments by 22 specialists, then declared him in “excellent health” and “fully fit” for duty. The release, sent after Trump’s Tuesday visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, did more than list test results. It showed how much of a president’s medical transparency now depends on whether the public gets the details needed to judge fitness for office, not just a reassuring conclusion.
The memo answered some questions that had been visible in public and left others open. It said Trump’s bruising on his hands came from frequent handshaking and aspirin use, that his slight lower-leg swelling had improved since last year, and that scarring on his right ear was consistent with the 2024 campaign-rally shooting in Pennsylvania. The doctor also estimated Trump’s cardiac age at about 14 years younger than his chronological age. Still, the disclosure did not fully settle the issues that had prompted the scrutiny in the first place, including his hands, swollen legs and broader concerns about alertness and stamina.
The numbers in the report were unusually specific. Trump weighed 238 pounds, up 14 pounds from his April 2025 physical, and measured 6-foot-3, putting his body mass index at 29.7, just below the obesity threshold. His blood pressure was 105/71 and his resting heart rate was 73 beats per minute, compared with 128/74 and 224 pounds in April 2025. The memo said his cholesterol was improved on rosuvastatin and ezetimibe, and that he takes aspirin for cardiac prevention. It also said he scored 30 out of 30 on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, matching prior perfect scores.
This was Trump’s third known checkup at Walter Reed since returning to the White House and his fourth publicly disclosed medical exam in roughly 13 months. The April 13, 2025 physician memo had been the last detailed public report before this latest release. For voters, that record matters because presidential health is not a private wellness matter when a commander in chief is asking for trust over a demanding schedule, emergency authority and the burden of continuous decision-making. The standard is not diagnosis from afar. It is whether the public is given enough objective information to assess how an occupant of the office can do the job.
This article was produced by Prism’s automated news system from verified source data, official records, and press releases, then run through automated quality and moderation checks before publishing. The system is built and supervised by the people who set the standards it runs under. Read our full AI policy.
Did this article answer your question?
